UK asking prices show bigger-than-usual rise in May, Rightmove says

Asking prices for UK homes in May rose by more than usual ​for the time of year, despite ‌uncertainty about the Iran war, and a key mortgage rate eased back, property website Rightmove said ​on Monday.

Property prices rose by a ​monthly 1.2%, above the 1.0% increase ⁠usually seen in May, Rightmove said. Prices ​rose by 0.8% in April from March.

“What’s ​notable this month is that activity in the market is staying fairly steady, even with ongoing cost-of-living ​pressures and wider global uncertainty,” Colleen ​Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said.

The Rightmove survey also ‌showed:

• Asking ⁠prices were 0.3% lower than a year earlier
• The average two-year fixed mortgage interest rate fell to 5.18% on May 11 from ​5.42% a ​month earlier
• Price ⁠falls in annual terms in the first-time buyer sector eased affordability ​problems in London and the ​southeast ⁠of England
• The number of homes for sale held at an 11-year high
• Sales agreed were 4% ⁠below ​their level a year ​earlier and 2% higher compared with the same period ​in 2024